#21: Worldview Informs Every Area of Life

And It All Begins with Authority

Authority Sits at the Center of Worldview

At the center of every worldview sits an authority figure who (if personal), or that (if impersonal), exercises dominion and control over the world and everything in it.

Authority comes from one of two sources:

(1) nature, the natural world, or

(2) supernature, the supernatural world.

As such, authority either begins and ends inside the natural world (with man), or it begins and ends outside the natural world, with something other than man, higher than man. It begins and ends in the supernatural world (with God).

Regardless of its source, authority determines what is right and what is wrong (values), what is true and what is false (facts), who we are (humanity), what the world is (universe), and why we exist (destiny). Worldview authority is the main character in the meta-narrative it represents.

Here’s a simple worldview illustration for your reference.¹

Controlling authority (nature or supernature) sits at the center of the inner circle - the bullseye.

It informs values, including defining just what values are (the next circle). It also determines facts, specifically what counts as a fact and what does not, which, in turn, tells us what is true and what is false (also in the next circle).

Finally, authority tells us who we are, what the world is, why we exist, and how we can and should relate to each other in it (the outer circle). This is played out in how we understand history, politics, education, law, arts, culture, science, psychology, medicine, biology, economics, and so forth.

In the Christian worldview, the God of the Bible created the world and everything in it so He occupies the position of authority over values, facts, and how they should inform every other part of life. Christianity, then, does not provide anyone, whether a believer or not, with private authority to decide what is right or wrong, or what is true or false, since there is an objective reality which already contains those answers and is discoverable to everyone. Christianity is not a private personal faith, rather it’s a meta-narrative that explains all of reality from creation to eternity.

Few religions make this claim, which is why we often see Christianity referred to as an entire belief system that involves a personal relationship between the Creator and the created.

By contrast, in a naturalistic, or secular, worldview, also referred to as secular humanism, man was made from matter (or material) without supernatural intervention or design. He, then, is the supreme authority over himself and the world. Man, without access to anything outside of himself, determines what is true and what is not true solely by means of reason and science. Man does not discover truth, he invents it. He also defines his own values, rendering them subjective and personal. This makes them inapplicable to the wider world except through persuasion.

Secular humanism, while also a religion in that it, too, deals with ultimate things, is a competing meta-narrative to Christianity.

Worldview Assumptions

Whether a Christian worldview or humanistic worldview (or variances between), the core authority and its definition of facts and values form the foundation on which everything else is built - what we think, how we behave, what we believe. This worldview foundation is a set of core assumptions, or premises, that dictate how one sees the world, understands reality, and makes decisions.

With this worldview framework, it’s much easier to see just how differently a Christian and a naturalist/secular humanist sees and judges the world. For the former, a higher power exists to which man must fully submit; for the latter, there is no higher power so man must only submit to himself and his personal desires.

When it is all said and done, all conflict comes down to a battle of authority. Everything else is just a logical manifestation of that authority and is extremely visible in today’s culture wars.

Moving Forward

We will be using this framework going forward as we analyze various worldviews beginning with the broad categories of naturalism, pantheism, and theism.

If you missed my last post on worldview, #19: Everyone Has a Worldview, be sure to check it out so you’re caught up and ready to go.

Back soon!

xo,

Kelley

February 6, 2024

P.S. By way of update, my mom is still with us so I have been dedicating the bulk of my time to her and enjoying the time that remains.

1. The worldview chart is inspired by Richard Wagner, author of Christianity for Dummies.